Cranky, Cranky, Cranky

I have been in a horrific mood this past week. From what I've heard it wasn't a good week for anyone, and i know it wasn't a good week for Neesha who was ill with what George claimed as his disease (diarrhea-ha!) and was feeling generally miserable. I was feeling miserable too but for for reasons that aren't as compelling.

Anyway my horrendous crankiness played a major role in my communication embargo-no posts, no emails, no checking the news, etc. This was perhaps not the most opportune time to enact that rule for myself, seeing as how the ICC is about to indite President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and genocide, and i have been getting daily panicked emails from the Embassy pretty much along the lines of "WE TOLD YOU SO. WE TOLD YOU NOT TO COME. BUT YOU CAME ANYWAY. and now there is a problem! and we have to deal with you! and you could get attacked ANYWHERE AT ANY TIME. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Disconcerting to say the least.

I have been thinking a lot lately, about things I will post about later. Suffice it to say, I think this week was the point during my "journey of self discovery" if you want to use words that sugary, that i hit the phase of angry, frustrated, hostile bitterness, which blended into contemplative silence and not entirely rational ideas. (touring the world visiting temples, not going back to Smith, moving to Sudan after college, etc)

In terms of day to day events-there have been rather few. Neesha was ill and spent most of the week lying in bed trying to sleep. George and I were extremely bored and spent our time doing the following:

• Playing "Virtual Maze" on the portable GPS system-in which the GPS system creates a maze and you walk around in real life trying to get the flags. Problems: the flags always seemed to be unhelpfully in the exact same spot as large, 40 ft metal containers or on ant hills. Also it was sunny and we looked like idiots, walking in circles around the compound staring at this device in our hands and periodically randomly pivoting around and starting off in the other direction.
• Playing with bottle caps. We played shuffleboard (caps, brooms, and sometimes toilet paper rolls), "home run derby" otherwise known as tennis with flyswatters and bottle caps and no net, and "Janga!" which was George, shooting a rubber band at the various toiletry items he had piled up one on top of the other on my desk. The problem with all of these games is that i always ended up being hit in the face.
• Going on a walk-almost got bit by a snake and a ruby beetle (not what they are called, just what color they are).
• Playing Pool

This last one was most fun. The first time we went down to the pool hall, George played and so did Jerome and i chatted up a guy named Bull who looked like he had been pulled right out of a 1950's-esq street gang movie, in a Texas tuxedo with a toothpick hanging out of his mouth and one foot propped behind him on the aluminum wall. The second time, I made friends with the waitress, had lots of beers, and got my ass handed to me by a guy who didn't talk, just danced like he was humping the table. I felt less bad about this when George had HIS ass handed to him by a guy who had been trying to give me tips, and Jerome had his ass narrowly handed to him by a man in a bright yellow shirt. Then we sat around watching music videos of beautiful Ugandan women dancing, and someone tried to get me to join their table (a group of men in suits) and when we left, we had skewered roasted goat meat that Jerome's friend Apollo made which is quite possibly the most delicious goat I've ever had, and could probably rival some of the meat in the states. Its my new favorite meal.

The pool hall and the drives we have gone on have all been beautiful and I'll write about them later probably, but I just wanted to post this so that Smisch knows I'm still alive. Hey Smisch. I'm still alive.